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IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia and challenger David Nyika weighed in at 199.5lbs at Monday’s weigh-in for their fight this Wednesday, January 8, at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, in Australia
Nyika looked well defined, showing very little fat on his 6’6″ frame. During the matchup, the two fighters faced each other. It had a pro wrestling feel to it, and I was expecting some theater right out of the gate. That was the only thing missing.
Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) is the favorite, but Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) has a real chance to win. It’s catching Jai at a good point in his career after his two grueling fights against former IBF champion Mairis Briedis. It has softened. The event will be available to watch live on DAZN.
Hearn Hypes Opetaia
“David Nyika is here to fight. He’s one of the best fans this part of the world has seen in a long time. He accepted the fight three weeks in advance. He sees something. He believes, but tomorrow night s “He’s going to face an animal in Jai Opetaia. This is going to be a brilliant fight,” said Eddie Hearn DAZN Boxing in today’s Jai Opetaia vs. Weighing in by David Nyika.
“You’re selling him for what he is. He’s an animal. He’s not going to come out and sing you a song and give you a happy face. He just wants to fight,” Hearn said Sports News Australiaspeaking of Opetaia. “This is Jai. He is a fierce savage. What you see is what you get, and that’s why people like to watch him wrestle.
“He’s a true champion. When you say Usyk. I don’t see any heavyweight that can beat Usyk. Jai may not be able to beat Usyk, but it’s a hell of a fight. When you see Usyk become an undisputed cruiserweight and then come to the heavy and becomes undisputed. That’s the same goal that Jai Opeptaia has,” said Hearn.
The fight between Opetaia and Usyk is still out because Jai still needs to pick up the other three belts before he achieves his goal of becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion. This will take a while. Perhaps it would be better if Opetaia abandons his goal and moves up to heavyweight alongside Usyk to challenge for his three belts. You can always return to the division to continue collecting them all.
“If we can make that happen at cruiserweight, I think it will make the Usyk fight huge. You imagine the undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world fighting the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world,” Hearn said. This is a massive fight. It has to go through David Nyika. It won’t be easy.”
Nyika has a real shot at winning this fight if she can hang on and get to the second half of the contest to start breaking Jai down with the pressure. Opetaia gets her face cracked when she gets hit really hard, and she has those eye ridges that tend to swell up when she gets hit. If Nyika can get enough shots in those eye ridges, he can cut him down and possibly get a stop.
“I know he’s a big favorite to do it, but if he does, you have to focus on the other champions. I think Zurdo’s fight is a brilliant fight. Get Wednesday out of the way and the goal has to be to unify the division,” Hearn said.
